Modern motor vehicles increasingly use automated clutches and automated transmissions in the drive train because in this way, on the one hand, reductions in fuel consumption and pollutant emissions and, on the other hand, an increase in driving comfort of the respective motor vehicles can be achieved. The clutch and the transmission are, in general, respectively controlled via an electronic transmission control unit which is supplied with information data regarding current driving and operating parameters of the motor vehicle, such as the engine speed and the load of the drive engine, the speeds of the input shaft and output shaft, as well as the engaged gear of the transmission, the degree of engagement of the clutch, and the degree of actuation of the gas pedal and of the brake pedal, where the data is processed into control commands that are conducted to the gear actuators of the transmission, the clutch actuator, and the engine control unit of the drive engine for carrying out starting and shifting operations.
Equivalent power trains are known, for example, from DE 197 23 393 A1, DE 199 52 623 A1, DE 101 21 389 C1, and DE 102 21 701 A1. DE 197 23 393 A1 which describe such a drive train and a control method for this drive train, wherein the clutch actuator for engaging and disengaging the clutch and/or the gear actuators for engaging and disengaging the gears of the transmission are configured as electric motors. The subject matter of DE 199 52 623 A1 is a method for controlling an equivalent drive train, wherein the engagement of the clutch is delayed until the speed of the drive engine is equal to the speed of the input shaft of the transmission, independently of the actuation of the gas pedal. In another method according to DE 101 21 389 C1 for controlling such a drive train, a load surge in the drive train caused by disengaging under load is prevented by adapting the engine torque of the drive engine, before disengaging the clutch, thereby making disengagement more comfortable. DE 102 21 701 A1 describes a method for controlling an equivalent drive train having a hydraulic clutch actuator according to which the engagement of the clutch, for ending a coasting mode of operation, is carried out in a particularly rapid and low-jerk manner by previously adapting the engine speed of the drive engine to the speed of the transmission input shaft.